Stewarts' Ramble: Northern Ireland, May 20

The most surprising thing about crossing from the Republic into Northern Ireland was the absence of any indication of a border, at least that we saw. Only when the numbers on speed limit signs mysteriously dropped, did we realize that we were in Northern Ireland, where road distances are measured in miles as God intended. Jacques’ speedometer continued to function in kilometers, however, so Todd was forced to do mental arithmetic to judge his compliance with the law.

Within a few miles of the border, we stopped in Londonderry or Derry, depending on one’s orientation toward London or Dublin. The city has too much history, perhaps, especially regarding the 1689 siege when the Protestants successfully held out against the Catholic King James II, an incident too often recalled during “The Troubles” in the 1970’s. The entire history of (London)Derry is fairly and expertly presented in a city museum, one of the best we have seen, in an apparent effort to keep the past from poisoning the present.

St. Columb’s Cathedral, Londonderry

The Diamond, Londonderry’s central square

From Londonderry we drove east to visit the Old Bushmills Distillery and the Giant’s Causeway. Our tour of the first was not as glitzy as our Guinness visit in Dublin, but we could actually observe the production process, watching the “spirit” flow through meters en route to the aging casks. At the Causeway, so named as it appeared that a giant started to sink pilings for a bridge to Scotland, we hiked down to the ocean and climbed on the mainly hexagonal basalt pillars, which were formed when a huge lava pool cooled and mixed with water. The site is historically important, for it was the focus of scientific discussions in the 18^th century that eventually led to the development of vulcanology.

Reaching Belfast that night, we spent the next full day exploring the city and its environs. Our first stop was Mount Stewart House, the family home of Lord Castlereagh, the British representative at the Congress of Vienna. The gardens there are different from those at Powerscourt but equally magnificent, having been enlarged and developed with imported flora in the first half of the 20^th century.

A large section of the Belfast waterfront is being redeveloped, anchored by a museum devoted to the “Titanic,” which was designed and built in the city. At first blush it seemed bizarre to memorialize such a catastrophic failure, but the museum came highly recommended and we decided to go. We were not disappointed. The multimedia exhibits trace the history of the city during the industrial revolution, the development of shipbuilding, and finally the building of the “Titanic” itself. At one point we were taken on a ride up and down the height of the building to show how the ship was constructed. Later exhibits included a mock-up of John Jacob Astor’s cabin, as well as cabins of second and third class passengers. Much space was devoted to tales of the victims and the survivors, and the exhibit ended with extensive video footage of the remains of the ship on the ocean floor. The significant omission was a discussion of the failures of construction and seamanship that led to the disaster--not surprising, perhaps, as the firm that designed and built the "Titanic" still operates in Belfast.